Conventional portable computing devices are becoming more powerful and expensive. The problem with such portable devices is that, due to their small size and/or light weight, they are often misplaced or stolen. For example, warehouse employees often utilize portable bar code scanners which, due to their small size, are difficult to manually track. Thus, replacement costs for these devices can become burdensome.
Some conventional security systems have attempted to deal with this issue. For example, small metal tags have been affixed to such portable devices so that, each time such a portable device is carried through a security area, the metal tag activates an alert system which notifies security personnel. However, such security systems cannot determine whether this portable device is being legitimately carried through the security area or whether it is being stolen. Thus, security personnel must conduct time-consuming investigations to make these determinations.